The Event Redux
by DaMan30026
Summary: From nothing to everything. From no one to everyone. Mayhem is back and with no promise of success, a group of fighters sharing all but blood have come to accept the challenge.  This is a redo of my original story... enjoy!
1. Lonesome as Always

The Event

Writer's Note

This is a redo of my story called "the event"… the story was kind of doomed from the start with things like crappy sentence formation and lack of general emotion… I mean first chapter Ashley's grandfather or great grandfather (see, I'm not even sure which and I wrote the damn story… sigh) is dying and she doesn't seem to give a crap. If one of my grandparents died, I'd be insanely depressed for months… probably because I look up to my grandparents more than I do my actual parents… I digress.

The story sucked and I lost where it was headed. I had given up and as you may or may not know I've started and stopped like five stories since then… I hadn't thought about the story in months when all of the sudden I heard this song called "Dead Hearts" by Stars. It's depressing, but promising. I say that because it's a girl telling a guy how people she once knew are heartbroken. The seemed relationship between the guy and girl made me jealous of people around me, and I decided that wasn't fair. I'm back to 7th grade tactics… it's bugging you, write a story about it.

So I was wondering what could be the basis of the story while listening to the song – little known factoid, I get most of my story ideas from songs I like (most of them give me that archetype of a guy taking that last breath before charging into an overwhelming force) – and all I could think of Ashley and John right after John returns from seeing Crisis (the bad, devil-like dude) for the first time. They were both depressed as shit, but they had each other. Too bad the story still sucked. So I'm rewriting it in an attempt to fix and finish what I started a long time ago. So here we go…

PS – I'm listening to "dead hearts" right now... so chill…

Chapter 1 – Lonesome As Always

"I spent last night thinking about where to start and came up with sixth grade, so I had transferred to an all-boys school in an attempt to distance myself from the majority of my classmates from my old school." I stopped to take a sip of Jameson before sighing. "I was being constantly bullied at my old school. And I see why now… I didn't fit in at all. I was a socially awkward kid even at ten or so years old.

"Anyways, I got to my new, '_college preparatory_' school and was actually academically challenged which was good, but even better I made friends and fit in a group of people. One of the people who was in that group, I called HD, or Hyper Dude. The name was partly because I couldn't remember his name for the first month I knew him but mostly because he was as hyper as a squirrel on espresso. It wasn't until October in the school year that I started calling him Andrew."

"Masters?" Michael asked with a puzzled face.

"Yep," I said, taking another sip.

"I had no idea you met him in Middle School, I thought it was High School."

"We were friends up through the entire time we were at High School," I said. "He got pulled out of school and thrown into public schooling when his dad died in Iraq and his mom and his little brother died at birth. I can't help but wonder if his little brother would have been like Andrew." I shrugged and shook my head. "That was dumb… make note of this, Mike: Don't trouble yourself with what ifs. They're too irritating and they'll never happen. Anyways, I regret I wasn't there for my friend, but I had problems of my own."

"Shit… hang on," Mike said, grabbing a typewriter fixing kit. "My ribbon jammed. I still don't get why you have me using this thing."

"I at least want to make it a pain in the ass for someone to copy these," I said. "It was easy twelve years ago; I bet it's easier now."

"Got it," he said. "Go ahead…"

"Well, I felt alone right after Andrew left. We still kept in touch," I said. "But it wasn't like before because he had move two hours away. So I basically talked to my friends at school, and then went home to my parents. It was always something with them. 'You're grades are too low,' 'You need to talk to us more,' and so on… It just was frustrating. My older sister was away at college, and my younger sister was the baby; I got the shit from my parents.

"I wanted to hang out with friends, couldn't with my parents constantly grounding me… I wanted to leave, couldn't because I wasn't eighteen. What a dumb law by the way and worse so with alcohol. At eighteen you're deemed ready to vote for a leader and die for a country, and yet you can't have a beer? What kind of a law is that?" I took another sip. "Anyways, the one thing I wanted more than anything else was a girlfriend."

Mike snickered.

"I know it's stupid, but I was in High School with 'racing hormones,' as the cliché goes, and only 40 hours of contact with the outside world a week. Not to mention I'm human. I'm still happy Ashley entered the way she did…"

Thirteen years earlier…

My dad gripped my collar tried to drag me. I stood rock still. "Dad," I said. "You don't want to do that, you'll hurt yourself." I felt his knees shaking as he tried to lift me. "I'm a head taller than you and probably in the best shape of my life. You're in your fifties with leg handicaps."

"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!" My dad said trying to lift me again.

"Enough," I said, gripping my dad's collar. I lifted him and stared at him with the same stone cold face. "Let go before I make you."

I felt his fingers loosen, and he cursed something that I couldn't decipher due to the spit that hit my face.

"I'll be back before midnight," I said and walked past him and my screaming mother to the door. I zipped up my hoodie as the cold, night air hit me. _Assholes_, I thought.

"You know, for seventeen, you keep your cool pretty well," said a woman's voice behind me.

I practically jumped out of my skin, and turned to face the source of the voice. I hit blue eyes and got no further.

"I'm Ashley Stevens," she said, holding out a hand.

I shook it. "John Arling."

She gestured to keep walking, so we did. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but…"

"It's not eavesdropping when it's screaming and you're within a mile of the house," I interrupted. "And thanks for the compliment."

"I don't mean to pry," Ashley said, "but do you seriously want out of that house."

"The only reason I'm still here and not in the military is I'm a year short of the right age."

"In that case," she said. "I've got a job offer."

I didn't respond.

"It's dangerous, there's no pay, but you do get nice living quarters and to do something people dream of doing."

"What's the catch?" I asked.

"The catch is two-fold. You may never see your friends, family, or anyone else you know for the majority of your life, and once you sign up, there's no turning back."

We came up to my thinking tree. Though my dad was a paratrooper in Vietnam, he never looked up when he was searching for me. I pointed up. "Can you climb?" I asked. She nodded and I started making my way up the oak. When I got to the first branch I pulled myself up and held down a hand for her.

"Thank you," she said.

I pulled her up and we made our way to the last sturdy branches towards the top.

"John," she started. "You're miserable here, and I've only been watching you for three days. You're strong, responsible, and kind for as long as you can be. In other words you have the virtues of a leader. You've-"

"So basically this is a 'Men in Black' sort of recruiting," I said. "Sorry to interrupt, but I get nervous when people compliment me."

"Basically yeah, but without the government," Ashley said.

I shrugged, "Do I need to get anything before we leave?"

"This is a life-changing decision, John," she said. "You may want to think it over."

"I have," I said. "In the three days you watched me, how many nights did I go sit in that chair in my room for an hour or two."

"Every night," she said.

"I've been praying for something to happen, and I'm not particularly religious. An opportunity like this doesn't come by twice. Now, do I need to get anything?"

"We've got clothes at headquarters for you, so you don't need that, but if there are any sentimental items, I suggest you sneak into your room and get them."

Present day…

"I had grabbed the survival knife my grandfather gave me as a memento that not all of my family hated me." I reached down to my right thigh to pull it out of the scabbard. The razor sharp edge was the only thing that seemed new. There were two blood stains from use along parts of the black blade that could only be seen up close. I passed it to Michael.

"It's a little light for my taste," he said, switching from a forward to a backwards grip and back again. "It is balanced though."

"It is light, but it's sturdy, and if I need it, that light weight has it out pretty fast."

He passed it back to me. "Thank you, sir."

"I told you not to sir me, but I figured seeing it would help you explain it better if you wanted to. Anyways, we headed to headquarters, which I can't disclose the location of, not even to you. That was the first time I rode a motorcycle, and it must have been hilarious for Ashley. We were on the road for a while before Ashley stopped us at a diner where we ate and she explained magic to me. I of course didn't believe her and she said to wait. We finished and left, we got to headquarters, I met the teacher as well as the rest of the crew, I changed and headed to bed."

"Can you elaborate on your meeting with the teacher, and explain one more time why you can't say his real name."

"His name is not mine to release. But I guess I can elaborate…"

Thirteen years earlier…

"John, good to see you've arrived," Alaron said as I stepped down the stairs into a large open room with Ashley practically pushing me forward. _When you meet Alaron, he won't be surprised that you stare at him. He's been through a lot. He'll be a complete jerk to you for the first few weeks you're with us_, Ashley had said to me. _Be patient though_. Ashley hadn't joked. His glowing gray form was intriguing to say the least.

"Good evening," I said, almost forgetting to respond to his greeting.

"I need to test your potential, so do us a favor and grab a sword off the rack," he said. "I'll explain who we are, and all that later, but for now grab a sword."

"Why swords," I asked. "Wouldn't a modern soldier need to learn how to use a gun?"

"You'll figure out soon enough why we use swords," he said. "Now stop asking stupid questions and grab a weapon."

I complied and walked over to the weapons rack. There were short swords, long swords, two-handers, hand-and-half swords, as well as a huge array of katana-like weapons. I sighed and looked at a few before picking up a hand-and-half sword.

"Logan will spar with you," Alaron said.

A white-blonde haired man in his late twenties stepped towards me and drew a katana. The blade of a katana was folded. That much I knew. I can't take a blow from that directly. Logan waved his hand over the blade and it glowed blue for a moment before he gestured for me to pass him the sword I had picked up. He did the same thing to my blade before handing it back to me.

"It blunts the blade with magic to prevent us from killing each other," Logan whispered. "Don't hold back. I won't be by choice."

"I'll just be careful anyways," I said, thinking it was a cool trick to get the blade to glow like that.

"Opposite ends!" Alaron called.

We walked to opposite ends of the room, and I swung the sword experimentally. It was balanced as far as I could tell.

"Begin!" Alaron called.

I had taken two steps when Logan was on me with a flurry of strikes. I deflected a few strikes before taking a step back. I deflected a few and stepped back, waiting for my chance. Logan drew back, crouching before going for a two-handed strike. If I tried to block it, it would shatter my blade. I stepped left and angled my blade, took the blow, took another step forward, and darted my leg quickly behind and between his. As I anticipated, he stepped back at the last second which caused him to stumble back. I shouldered him, and as he hit the floor I placed my knee on his neck.

"Yield," I said to him.

"Nice moves," he said. "Where'd you learn to fight?"

"My dad taught me hand-to-hand combat when I was in grade school," I said. "And some of my friends enjoy LARP."

"What is LARP?"

"I should probably explain that later."

"Logan, you can use magic now!" Alaron yelled.

"Ok," Logan said.

There was a flash and a crack as I felt the blunted katana slam into my back. I jumped to my feet, scared out of my wits.

"What the hell?" I said.

"Magic," Logan's voice said from everywhere. "That's called a rush. I willed my body to motion around out you, and as I came around, I struck you in the back. Little tip, you have to look where you're going to rush, but you don't have to actually see your destination. I'll teach you it later, but for now."

There was a _whoosh _as a ribbon of blue light darted to my left. There was a flash as Logan appeared. He delivered the blow; I deflected just in time and went to strike. It was a quick jab, but all I struck was air as he vanished in a flash. I dropped to the floor and felt air rush by my head as the katana just missed. Swung my legs and knocked Logan over. He laughed as I went to put my right knee at his neck. He flashed, and I kicked hard from the ground.

I collided with Logan as he rushed behind me. I elbowed him in the gut as we fell and left him winded. I knocked his blade free as he kneed me in the stomach. We hit the ground and slid. I yanked his head up and rolled, kicking his blade from his hand as I went. A second later, my left arm was bent around his neck and my right hand was on his face.

"I have just broken your neck," I said.

"I yield," Logan chuckled. "That's a first."

I released him and heard clapping around the chamber as the walls vanished, showing forty or so people from ages six to sixty smiling.

"Welcome to our order," they said in unison. "Where the dark is darkest, we bring the light. Where the truth is hidden, we gain the key. Where Madness rises, we bring the hammer down."

Final Notes

I can't tell you guys how much it means to me when I get reviews. If you have the time and the ability, it would be great if you could review this chapter and tell me what you think. It's early enough in the story that I can change some stuff. Oh and one more thing… Merry Christmas (or Happy Hanukah)!


	2. Starting at the End

The Event

Writer's Note

I just came up with a really clever name for the chapter… or at least I think it's clever. Just as a small challenge, see if you can figure out what it means. It may not be hard for some of you, but for others it may be. Though considering I came up with it, it's probably not too terribly difficult to figure out. Anyways, onto the next chapter…

- PS – Judge Matthis: "I can see justithe through my gathp…" Is it racist? YOU BE THE JUDGE!

- PSS – I'm only saying that because I hate judge Matthis… not people with gap teeth…

Chapter 2 – Starting at the End

"So they just accepted you into the Order of Shadows like that?" Mike said. "It seems a little skimpy. How do they know they can trust you?"

"I asked the same thing to the teacher a month after the initiation," I said. "He said he had a vision of me and that's how he knew I was to be recruited and trusted."

"So about your training…"

"Nope," I said.

"There's nothing you can share on that," he said with a n eyebrow raised. "I'm surprised. It may be useful to them."

"I'm not worried about them," I said. "There's nothing they can't figure out on their own once they get to the headquarters. The public doesn't need to know how to use magic. I'm worried what the world would do with that sort of power."

"Well can you just share some information as like filler info for the book," he said. "I need something."

"Write this: The teacher is a bad name," I said. "He doesn't teach as you know it. I told him several times he should be called the Vigil. It has to do more with seeing. It is more like his demonstrations. You have to see it and do it for yourself to truly learn it. Write that down, but I can't explain anymore."

"That's okay, it works," he said. "I think I understand why, too."

"My last point says you don't," I said, taking a sip of whiskey and smiling. "Anyways, by the end of three months of training, I was decent enough at rushing, slowing time, and increasing general speed and strength using magic. Also, I had all but mastered swordsmanship and broke the record for 'graduating' the teacher's class. I'd be surprised if you couldn't guess whose record I broke by only a couple hours."

"Was she pissed?" he asked laughing.

"You bet," I laughed. "We were good friends at that point, but she still wouldn't talk to me beyond pass the 'potatoes' for a few days."

"What caused you two to talk again?"

"Well," I said. "We saw each other every day, and I'm sure she would have started talking to me again regardless, but I think what did it was the fact that Logan told her about the 'sick days' that I took which delayed my exam as long as it did."

"Nice, John," he said.

"I had what some might call, machine-gun influenza," I said, smiling. "It came. It went. It came. It went. I'm not sure how many days I had it. I just remember it being horrific. Anyways, I'm happy I graduated when I did because as you know I needed those skills."

"Exactly when did you get the vision?"

"Four or five days after my final examination," I said. "Talk about timing."

Thirteen years earlier…

"Cough," Ash teased. "Cough… Cough… Cough…"

"You're doing it wrong," Logan said. "Cough… I'm feeling better, I think I'll go play ball with Logan, my very bestest friend… oh now it I have class... cough…"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I piped up between bites of food.

"Right," Ash said as she looked at the clock. "Damn I hate night shifts. We need to go to bed if we're getting back up at 7:00."

I nodded. Logan gestured for the dishes. "You guys go," he said. "I've got nothing better to do. Hell, I'll probably just head to bed after I clean the dishes."

"Thanks, Logan," I said, helping to stack the dishes on one tray.

Ash and I made our way towards the dormitories which were located just down the hall from the mess hall. She yawned, and I looked over at her.

"I really don't understand how you can be tired," I said.

"I really don't understand how you aren't," she said.

"Simple. I run on coffee and poptarts," I said. "It's been that way since middle school."

"That's not healthy," she laughed.

"Probably not," I said. "But it works."

We walked in silence for a bit. I think I know what she wanted me to ask and got a knot in my stomach just thinking about it. I liked her, but I didn't want to make things awkward.

"You ever worry about making things unbearably awkward," she said.

She always knew what I was thinking. I looked over at her. _Just wing it_, I thought.

"Sometimes," I said. "You?"

"Not really," she said.

"That's fortunate," I said. "Just out of curiosity, if someone asked you something they thought was awkward, does that mean it's awkward for you?"

"Not necessarily," she responded.

The dorms were coming up, I could see the split of the girls and boys dorms slowly making their way towards us like a vertigo camera shot.

"So if I happened to ask you on a date," I said. "It would be completely awkward for me to ask, but it wouldn't be the least bit awkward for you?"

"I'm not an awkward person," she said.

"So what are you doing Friday?" I shrugged.

"I don't know," she said, smiling. "What are we doing Friday?"

"That new Sherlock Holmes movie came out," I said. "I think there's a showing Friday night."

"Sounds like a date," she said. "This is my exit… See you tonight, John."

"See you," I said.

She smiled. I smiled. She headed to her dormitory, and I stood in the hallway.

"Finally," I heard whisper to herself from around the corner.

I smiled. "It was still awkward as Hell for me to ask that," I whispered, knowing she could probably here me. I turned and walked into the boy's dormitory and headed for my bunk. Logan's bunk was above mine, and I noticed the mess spilling out between the rails. _His mom must have gone insane trying to get that guy to clean up his room_, I thought. I slipped off my shirt and threw on a pair of sweatpants before climbing into bed. _Get up at 6:30 pm_, I thought to myself.

As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out.

_And then I was back but not as me. I was warmer than usual. I looked to the moon for some reason. It was midday when I went to sleep, but the moon in my dream was full and clear in a night sky. I noticed the Gateway Arch off in the distance and saw a dark line that marked the muddy Mississippi River. I looked down for the first time._

_ I was hanging in the air, suspended from a building side. I sniffed my nostrils, and there was an abnormally heavy breath that came with it. I heard a howl and my head darted right though the sound seemed to come from all around. I heard a gunshot clearly from my left, but when I tried to glance left, I couldn't. Something was holding my focus. I suddenly lurched from where I was hanging and felt my hand push off of something. All the sudden I was running on all fours._

_ I ran to the edge of a roof top and launched myself across a street. My pace and breath quickened as I jumped repeatedly. There was another howl and my course changed slightly while I picked up speed. I was jumping street after street. I saw a black figure ahead. It was on all fours like me, but it wasn't human. Its head checked right, and I jumped into the alley to the left._

_ "Enough," I heard myself say. I took a deep breath and hurdled myself up and over a building onto the back of the thing I was chasing. It howled as I tackled it. I felt my mind gasp as I saw the fur on my hands matched the fur on what I tackled. I hit the ground and tumbled with it before it kicked free of my grip. I pounced on it once more and yelped as its claw dug into my stomach. I clawed at its head and left a gash on the side of its elongated face. It growled and scratched at my side. I felt blood begin to seep from my stomach wound. I hit it in the face again and gripped around its head with both hands. It growled and swiped at my neck, breaking some sort of chain around it. I twisted its neck and there was a snap and a yelp as it died._

_ I rolled over onto my back and slowly got up, breathing heavily. I pulled a phone out of my pocket and pressed a button. "Andrew!" said a voice over the phone._

_ "Jade," I said. "I need help."_

_ I picked up the chain that had been ripped off with the hand that wasn't holding my stomach and found dog togs that read: "Connor Masters." I blacked out._

I sat bolt upright, and there was a _WHAM_ as I hit the bottom of the upper bunk. "DAMN IT!" I yelled, rubbing my forehead.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Logan yelled as he tumbled out of the top bunk. "OOMPH!"

"Oh, shit sorry, Logan," I said, getting out of the bunk still rubbing my head.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked.

"I think I had a vision," I said. "Is it a full moon tonight?"

"Why?"

"Is it?" I asked, slipping on my black jeans and t-shirt.

"Yeah, I think so."

"I just had a vision of my friend, Andrew Masters," I said. "He gets hurt hunting a balverine tonight. I think it's in St. Louis."

Logan nodded for a second before saying, "I'll cover you on guard duty tonight. Take Ash and go."

"You're sure," I said.

"Visions shouldn't be taken lightly," he said. "If it truly is a vision, you should go because you're the one that had it. And besides, I've went to bed fifteen minutes after you and Ash, so I've had enough sleep."

"Thanks," I said, putting on my socks and grabbing my grey hoodie and black leather jacket.

"Now go," he said. "And good hunting with that balverine."

Present day…

"Well," I said. "I got Ashley and we took one of the Camaros to St. Louis, getting there by 7:45 which left us time to search for the spot I saw Andrew considering it was an hour or so until the moon was at the height I remembered for the vision."

"What gear did you have with you?" he asked.

"My normal gear," I said. "I had my hand-and-half sword which I had in a scabbard on my back, my Beretta M9 which was in a holster on my right thigh, and the knife I showed you earlier which was on my waist on my back. Ashley had her throwing knife which was where my knife was, her longsword which was in a scabbard on her left waist, and her M9 which was in the same place as mine. We both were in our 'casual clothing' which were dark or black jeans, black or grey t-shirts, black or grey hoodies, and, if it was cold enough, a black leather jacket. Is that enough info?"

"Yeah," he said. "So you got to St. Louis and…"

"I got my blade bloody for the first time," I said.

Thirteen years earlier…

"John," she said. "There's nothing here."

"I'm telling you we're close," I said. "This is insanely close to the right point as far as viewing the Arch and the Mississippi."

"Alaron will be disappointed if we don't get back with something," she said, grabbing my shoulder. "But that's no reason not to head back."

There was a howl that sounded all around us.

"That way," I said and jumped to the roof of the nearest building. _I love magic_, I thought to myself just as there was a clank behind me that signaled Ash was right behind me.

I jumped to the next rooftop and saw a figure in a grey hoodie, running on all fours. I picked up speed and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, slowly gaining on the two figures. The wind was cold on my face as I realized how much faster I was than Ash.

"Shit," I cursed as Andrew darted into an alleyway between two houses. Any second now, he's going to make his move.

I rushed across two houses and onto a third as Andrew tackled the balverine. They went sailing into the street below me as I pulled my knife and threw myself at the balverine. I tore the balverine out of Andrew's grip and plunged my knife into its neck. My knife vibrated as it tried to howl. I twisted the knife and yanked it free, killing the beast.

"Who-" Andrew started.

"A friend," I said. "Do you remember me?"

I faced him, pulling my hood back. He turned away.

"John," he said.

"Andrew," I said. "I know about your... to be honest I'm not sure what to call it. Go ahead and draw back your hood."

He laughed as he pulled back his hood. He was a wolf. His head was elongated, and he had ears and a maw that resembled a balverine. "I think it's called a condition or a deformity."

"To be honest I was crossed between the two of them."

"It's called being a balverine," Ash said landing behind me. "Though I must say, I've never seen a balverine that wasn't a mindless monster. Let alone hear one speak."

"You finally got that girlfriend I see," Andrew joked.

"He did," Ash answered for me, probably knowing I didn't know how to answer that statement.

_Sweet_, I thought.

"Andrew," I said. "We can offer you shelter and a new lifestyle."

"Sound's good," he said. "And I trust you enough to believe this isn't a trap."

"It isn't," I said. "There's also a place for Jade if you want to give her that call your dying to make so you can let her know you're fine."

"How do you know that?"

"Intuition, my friend," I said, smiling as he pulled out his phone.

"You're sure we can trust him?" Ash whispered into my ear.

"He's my oldest friend," I whispered.

"I wouldn't trust half of my old friends with some of the information I know," she whispered.

"Neither would I," I said. "Good thing he's not half of my friends."

Final Notes

So how am I doing so far? There's always that comments section… it's so tantalizing isn't it… just click it. CLICK DA BUTTON!

:D


	3. Sincerest Apologies

**The Event**

**WRITER'S NOTES:**

I'm listening to "Iridescent" by Linkin Park. This is a foreshadow… I said: "FORESHADOW!"

Also, I'm about to finish up the last book of the Inheritance Cycle (the Eragon series), and I came to the conclusion that "Center of Attention" by Guster would be the ultimate mind protection song. Just think if Eragon were trying to hide some info from Galbatorix who was taking over his mind, and he started to play that song in his head. Ha! Funny shit… anyways, this next chapter is alternately titled "defecational (which isn't a real word, but I bet you guys can figure out its base) collision with swirling objects designed to bring relief from heat" because it aptly describes the chapter. I went with sincerest apologies because John feels like shit over two things, and he apologizes for them.

On an important note, I'm changing the style the chapters are placed. I was looking online and it was really clumped together because fan fiction changes it around when I post it. For example, there are lines above and below the "Writer's Notes," "Chapter 3 – Sincerest Apologies," and "Final Notes" that get completely deleted. I also have extra spaces between the end of this paragraph and the start of the chapter that will be deleted. Basically I'm trying to stop it from going from an organized, awesome structure to a complete cluster-fuck. If there are any suggestions you guys can come up with, please let me know in a comment.

**CHAPTER 3 – SINCEREST APOLOGIES**

"I still feel bad considering the only reason I recognized Andrew was the fact that I already knew it was him." I took a sip of Jameson. "Anyways, we picked up Jade, gave them their own 'apartment' type room at HQ and headed to bed. Logan was surprised to see Andrew was a balverine, and surprisingly the teacher didn't want to see him yet. He also was fine, as far as I could tell, with housing Andrew and Jade. It may be important to add that Andrew and Jade were all but engaged. He couldn't afford a ring for Jade, or I think they would have been.

"The teacher spoke to Andrew the next day, and only he knows what the teacher said to him. Over the course of the next year, Andrew was taught how to fight with a sword like us though he preferred a glave, but he also was allowed to try to fight unarmed as a normal balverine in case he lost his sword."

"What about Jade?" Michael asked.

"She didn't want to learn how to fight, but Andrew talked to her and had her learn how to shoot a rifle. She became a relatively good shot with the M4, but she never had to use that ability to my knowledge."

"Did you know Jade before the war?"

"I knew of her," I said. "But I never met her; I didn't get a chance to. Andrew was dating her from sophomore year in High School up until the point that I left with Ash, but Andrew kept her separate from the rest of the school. In fact he kept a lot of things separate from our group of friends…"

"Did you and Ashley ever get to go on that date?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "But it didn't go so well. I was nervous and awkward as hell. She didn't care, but I felt like a fucking idiot. I still feel like an idiot about it today. We were… well… I guess you could call it dating up until the time I had to go off on my own…"

_TWELVE YEARS EARLIER_…

I woke with a start. Something was wrong. I felt the presence of unfamiliar beings around me. I got up and grabbed my sword and knife, clipping their scabbards to my belt in their relative locations.

"I feel it too," Logan said, sliding down next to me. "Wake everyone. I'm going to check out the hallways."

"Logan," I said. "Be careful."

"You too," he said, grabbing his katana and running silently out into the hallway.

I woke everyone silently; one by one all of the men and boys got up, dressed, and grabbed what weapons they had. As soon as everyone was awake, I stuck my head out into the hallway. "Clear," I said to those following me. I crossed to the entrance to the girl's dormitories and knocked lightly on the door. "Wake up," I whispered. "It's John. Open up, we've got trouble." I waited and heard a few of the girls on the other side stir and work their way out of their beds. I drew my sword and glanced down the hallway on my left.

A blood-curdling scream erupted from inside. I stepped back and kicked the door with all the force I could generate. It went spiraling off its hinges and flying into the room. I saw a girl, who was lifted in the air by her throat, fall as her assailant was hit by the spiraling door. I charged in as the intruder kicked the door off of him. He was clad entirely in black with only his eyes uncovered. He drew a short sword that was also black. I lunged and swung my sword in an overhand strike. The intruder caught the blow with his sword with astounding ease and sent a shock up my arm.

"You're a Member of Mayhem," I said.

He answered only with a chuckle. I gave him a wry smile and, using my free hand, threw him onto his ass with a spell. He tumbled and swung his legs to land back on his feet chuckling as if asking for me to try harder. I ran forward and he brought his sword to a ready stance. I swung in a sweeping motion from my left, and as his sword came up to block my strike, I rushed behind him. I miscalculated my course and left him with only a nick on the shoulder as I finished the strike. He rushed behind me, and I dropped to my hands and knees as the blade of his short sword flew over my back. I rolled over my shoulder and kicked myself off the ground as soon as my feet hit the ground again. I stabbed and felt my blade sink a few inches below his sternum. I yanked my blade free, twisted the blade and in a swift, forehand movement, lopped his head off. There was a thud as his head hit the floor. The man's body went up in flames, and I looked around the room to see Ash had cast the spell.

"Now we're sure he's dead," she said.

"I decapitated him…" I said, staring at her.

"Nevertheless…"

I shrugged. "We need to get those who can't fight to the safe house before more of them arrive. Is anybody here a graduate fighter besides Ashley?"

"I am," said a woman who looked about thirty wielding two short swords.

"Alright," I said. "I'll take point, you-" pointing to the woman "-take the middle of the group, and, Ashley, take the back. Don't stop moving until we reach the tunnel. Can everybody run for that long?"

All of the men and women nodded.

"Let's go," I said and made my way into the hallway.

"John!" shouted Andrew's voice from down the hallway.

"Over here!" I shouted back.

Jade and Andrew rounded the corner a few seconds later, both in pajamas of some form or another. Andrew had his massive glave, which was too big for indoor fighting, strapped to his back and a straight katana out. Jade had a one-sided dagger in her right hand while her left was up and ready to cast magic if need be.

"We're headed for the safe house," I said. "You mind joining Ash at the rear?"

Andrew nodded. We walked down the hallway without saying a word. I heard separate sword fights echoing through the hall but didn't slow down. We went pass the cafeteria, and I saw Logan fighting off a Member of Mayhem. I stepped forward before he shouted.

"Just go! Get them to the safe house, John!" he yelled as he landed a backhanded blow on his opponent's shoulder.

I turned away, and we continued for a while before we got to the garage. I hit the pass code and the door slid into the wall. "Everybody in," I said. As we got through, I closed the door behind me. Ash, Andrew, Jade, and the woman with the short sword each grabbed keys to a van. Van by van they piled in with the people we brought with us.

I hit the button by the keys, and the door in front of the cars opened. I went to get into the car closest to me and heard a banging on the door behind us. Someone was trying to get in, and they couldn't be friendly considering everyone at the base knows the code to this room. I grabbed the rack on the top of the van and braced my feet on the side.

"Just go," I said to Ash.

I hung on for my life as Ash gunned the van. We sped into a tunnel with the three vans behind us. I saw the light of the exit and sighed. _We made it out_, I thought to myself.

Something gripped my collar, and I was yanked off the side of the van. I tumbled and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the other vans. They didn't seem to notice what happened as the light from their headlights quickly vanished from the tunnel. I rose to my knees, but something knocked me down. I rushed to my feet and pulled out my blade.

"Coward," I said. "Show yourself!"

The only response was a maniacal laugh. Something hit me square in the chest that felt like a hammer. I sailed backwards into the wall. I felt my sword hand get kicked, and my sword slid out of my hand. Someone stepped on me.

"You're no son of his," whispered my attacker, pressing the unmistakably cool surface of a dagger to my neck. "This has been too easy… any last words?" Blood trickled down the sides of my neck.

I got a gut feeling and pressed my left hand against his chest. I screamed as some form of energy poured out of my hand, and a blinding light enveloped me. My hand felt as if it went to sleep, thousands of needles seeming to prick the skin from the middle of my forearm to the tips of my fingers. I ceased the instinctual spell and the light slowly faded. My ears began to painfully ring. My eyes began to close as I discovered a whole array of gore and blood on the ceiling and opposite wall of the tunnel. My head hit the floor, and I was out.

_(begin dream)_

I was sitting on the beach in white and blue swimming trunks. Sand rested against my back, in my fingers, and on the back of my legs. The sun looked dull, and I realized I was wearing aviator sunglasses. I felt my arm around somebody, and I turned to find Ash pressed against me wearing a blue and white bikini with her black hair falling partly over my shoulder. She turned and smiled at me. She was slightly older than the last time I saw her but not by more than five or six years. I smiled, and she turned to face the sea. The beach wasn't crowded at all. There were scattered families and couples across the vast expanse. It was calm here.

I turned to the ocean to find someone climbing out of the water. It was a man clad in a black business suit with a black shirt and tie. Strangely, he looked completely dry from head to toe. He pulled out black Rayban shades and placed them on his face. Ash lifted an arm and waved to him. He walked over, smiling. As he got closer, I noticed he looked slightly like me; He had brown hair so dark that it looked black and his jaw-line matched mine slightly.

"Brother," he said to me.

Confused, I nodded a greeting. _I only have sisters_, I thought to myself.

"I think you'll be happy to know that things are going well," he said, sitting down. "The balverines are enjoying their new freedoms and aren't causing too much trouble. The former captains of the Members of Mayhem have caused no trouble for me. All in all, I don't think there's any cause to be worried about future incidents."

"Glad to hear it," I said.

"Are you alright, John?" he asked. "I would have thought you'd be more excited to hear this news. Is everything going well up here?"

"Forgive him, Sebastian," Ash said. "I don't think he's feeling well. You know, with the big book interviews beginning tomorrow."

"Oh," Sebastian said. "Well that makes sense. I wouldn't dwell on it too much, brother. Though it is a book about the past, and you will have to dwell on it, you should find it calming to get everything that you can out to the world."

I nodded, still confused.

"John," Ash said suddenly. "John!" She jumped onto me and started shaking my shoulders. "JOHN, WAKE UP!"

_(end dream)_

I opened my eyes to find her over me. She was staring, concerned, with her blue eyes deep into mine. She got off of me and held out a hand to help me up. I grabbed it, though loosely and rose to a hunched, standing position before toppling forward.

"Ouch… what happened?" I asked, trying to rise to my hands and knees.

"That's what we were about to ask you," said Andrew as he gripped my left arm with a massive, furry paw. He and Ash lifted me to my feet and wrapped my arms across their shoulders. Andrew had to crouch a lot to be at the same height as Ash.

"Leave him," said a voice behind me. Andrew and Ash turned me around to face the voice. It was Alaron.

"No," Ash said.

"Wasn't optional…"

"Why?" I asked.

"You don't know who you are. I suspected as much even when I sent Ashley to fetch you. Now it has become too much of a danger for the rest of the Order of Shadows. You need to figure this out for yourself. Until you do, we can't trust you."

"Can't trust me?" I repeated.

"Look at your hand."

"My hand I-" I saw it. It was scorched from my wrist to the tips of my fingers. Part of the skin was peeling off, and all in all it was the second most gruesome sight I had ever seen. The most gruesome being the actual damage the spell had caused. I looked at the wall and ceiling. The gore – the burnt skin and meat – of the man who attacked me still clung to the surface it had hit.

"John, Ashley, and Andrew, you know me to be out for the best interests of all of you. Trust me to know that I'm doing the same. Ashley and Andrew please leave us be for a moment."

Andrew emitted something that sounded like a growl, and I saw slight reflections of the little light on Ashley's face as she let silent tears go loose. Alaron grabbed me by the arm, and I felt the ability to stand again. I nodded to Andrew and he let go. I hugged Ash. "I won't leave without saying goodbye," I whispered into her ear. "Wait for me."

"I will," she said, kissing me on the cheek.

I turned to Alaron as Ashley followed Andrew through the hall. I glared at him. I didn't like where this was going, but I trusted Alaron enough to believe he had good intentions and better reasons. I leaned against the wall, waiting for him to explain."

"John," he began, clearly choosing his words carefully. "You don't know who you are. You don't know really where your origins lie. You believe that you were raised by awful parents. You believe you left your kin behind to make a name for yourself. I'll let you in on a little secret: you already have a name for yourself, but it revolves around your true father. John, this isn't a punishment. You need to find yourself. Crisis is returning."

I sighed. I knew I had felt something. The actions tonight and those aches to fight had to coincide somehow. The leader of Mayhem, Crisis, was going to make a move of some sort.

"You can feel it," he said. "You were restless these past few weeks. You need to realize why. There's a power you have yet to unlock though you scratched the surface of it tonight. There's a past hidden from you, but all you need to do is ask the right people and consider the right thoughts to unlock it. There is a weapon you need to retrieve for yourself. There is a destiny that awaits you, and I fear it is within this decade. You need to venture off on your own for now."

"When will I know to come back," I sighed.

"When you are more powerful than me, and you are sure of it. When you have the sword that enhances the powers you already possess. When you have an ability only five others on the planet have, you should return."

"Where do I begin?"

"Learn who your father is," Alaron said. "The rest will follow."

"May I say my goodbyes?"

Alaron nodded. I walked away before he called me. "Two last things, John. First, we're done with this headquarters, so take what you need. Second, there's a book on my desk in the study you may find worth your time."

I nodded before continuing on my way to my friends. _She is not going to like this_, I thought to myself. I came to the end of the tunnel and stepped out into the light. Everyone had made it out. I saw Logan, Andrew, Jade, and of course, Ashley waiting for me. I sighed and beckoned them to join me apart from everyone.

Andrew was the first to speak, "You're not really go-"

"I have to. There are reasons he has, and I don't think he considers the danger I present as one. I'll be back though." Andrew held out and hand which I shook, glad that he didn't try to bro-hug me considering he could possibly crush me. "Take care of yourself and Jade." Logan stepped forward and he actually did bro-hug me.

"You better come back soon," he said.

"I'll return as soon as I can," I said. I then whispered in his ear, "War's coming. Be ready to lead, and look after Ashley for me."

I backed up and smiled at the three of them before turning to Ashley. Andrew, Jade, and Logan walked away in a mild attempt to give us privacy. Ash was crying. Not hard, but tears were there. I gently pulled her in for a hug, and she immediately embraced me. I could feel my shirt getting wet as she cried harder. I kissed her on the head.

"I'll be back soon," I said.

We still held each other. She looked up at me and gave me a look that almost ripped me apart. I reached down and behind me. There was a slight _click_ as the scabbard for my grandfather's knife came off my belt. I tried to hand it to Ash, but she wouldn't let go. I kissed on the head again and reached around behind her, clipping the scabbard to her belt where I normally put it.

"Hold onto that for me," I said. "If you ever get lonely, realize that is the embodiment of everything I know about myself."

She hugged me tighter as if to say "thanks," and I began rubbing her back.

"I love you," I said.

She stopped crying. "I love you, too," she said.

"I'll be back before you know it."

"You better be," she said.

We kissed.

"Now go," she said, suddenly. "The sooner you get whatever it is you need to do done, the sooner we can finish that kiss."

I hugged her one more time before turning and walking back to the tunnel into the old headquarters. _The sooner I get this over with, the better_.

**FINAL NOTES:**

Well I was hoping to get this chapter done before I went back to school. Today is Thursday and my first day of school, so I was close. I'm kind of worried that I forgot something or forgot to explain something, so please let me know if something isn't clear. I think it has to do with Crisis, so I'm going to explain a little bit about him.

Crisis is the leader of all those things that go bump in the night. He's the embodiment of evil, though his position was created to keep evil was under control. Crisis also founded a group called Mayhem. Their job, as you can tell, is basically to wreak havoc and to be the balancing variable to match the power of the Order of Shadows. Crisis had remained generally peaceful, but as we know, peace doesn't really make for good story telling. He's making his move (as John realized) within this decade. By making his move I mean that he is trying to gain control of Earth. That's all I can really explain to this point on Crisis because at this point in the story, that's all John knows (basically Crisis is the main bad guy). I can elaborate on the Order of Shadows, though.

Balverines had gone rampant before Crisis was given his position as the ruler of them in particular. The Order of Shadows were a group of warriors that were especially gifted (they could use magic). They fought and all but eliminated the balverine race in three gruesome battles that were wiped from the history books. Because of the continuous efforts by the Order of Shadows, the balverine threat has remained a secret.

If you're still confused on anything, please leave a comment.

Also, I'm not going to have Michael and John talk to each other for a while, so don't be surprised if there are two or even three chapters just of John recalling the events of the last decade.

And may I say congratulations with the new record?  
>3700 Words barely stretching into 8 pages for one chapter.<p>

I'm happy… good luck with this next semester to whoever is still in school and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


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